Frame for garment bag



vA. H. BEEDE FRAME FOR GARMENT BAG March 3, 1959 Original Filed June ll, 19 52 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 f/Z ya fp ATTORNEY Mach 3, 1959. A. H. BEEDE 2,876,054

FRAME FOR GARMENT BAG Original Filed June 11, 1952 3 Shets-Sheet 2.

iNVENTOR March 1959 A. H. BEEDE 2,8 ,0 4

FRAME FOR GARMENT BAG Original Filed June '11, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR United States PatentO H. Beetle, Stamford, Conn, assignor to Electrolux 'Corporation, Old Greenwich, Conn., a corporation of Delaware Original application June 11, 1952, SerialNo. 292,867,

Patent No. 2,155,013," dated July 17, 1 956.. Di-l vided and this application January 12, 1956',.SQ '.ial No. 558,801

3 Claims. 7 (Cl. 31 2.3)

This application is a division of my copending application Serial No. 292,867, filed June 11, 1952 and subsequently issued as Patent No. 2,755,013 on July 17,

My invention relates to containers, commonly known as garment bags, for storing and protecting clothingor the like. i

One of the objectsof my invention is to'provide a garment bag, including a supporting frame which main tains the walls of the bag in spaced relation during use, which may be folded into a compact package'forstorage and shipment.' v

Further objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the following description considered inconnection with the accompanying drawings, which form a part; of this specificatiomand of which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view: of the, container or gar,- ment bag in accordance with myinvention with the opening opened for the reception or removaljof garments;

'Fig. 2; is a perspective view similar to Fig. lfbut with the opening closed;

Fig. 3 is an exploded view of certain parts of the container;

Fig. 4 is a cross-septional view of the supporting frame of the container? i i i Fig. 5 is arerosssectional view on an; enlarged scale taken onthe line 55 of Fig. l; V

Fig. 6 is a c-ross-sectional-view on an enlarged scale showing a detail-ofconst-r-uctionof the frame; and; V

Fig. 7-is' a view on an enlarged-scale showinganother detail ofthe construction of t-heframe. v

Referring more particularly to Fig. 1, reference character 10 designates-generally a container or; envelope made of flexible materialwhich is preferably transparent and impervious withrespectto the fum-igant-gas which is employed to protect the contents of the envelope from damage by clothes moths or the like. The best and most common fumigant for this purpose is paradichlorobenzene. If this is the fumigant to be used, the container may be made of a film of polyvinyl alcohol, which is a clear transparent material substantially impervious to the passage therethrough of paradichlorobenzene gas. This envelope may be made of a single sheet of this material folded along the bottom edge 12, with the remaining side edges 14 and 16 and the top edge 18 secured together in any suitable manner so as to form a container having two side walls and front, rear and top walls.

In one of the side walls 20 there is formed an elongated opening 22 having any desired extent, but preferably about three quarters of the vertical extent of the side wall. Suitable means are provided for mechanically closing this opening, such as snap fasteners or a slide fastener 24. However, a slide fastener does not provide a fumigant-tight closure for the opening, inasmuch as the gas may pass between the mechanically interlocked fingers of the fastener, and thus escape from the container.

Adjacent and parallel to this opening the end wall of the container is formed with an elongated pocket 26 2,876,054 Patented Mar. 3 1958 which preferably extends the entire height of the end thereto. A- hand grip member 30 maybe secured to the upper end of the strip 28 and, as is shown more p'articu larly in Fig. 5, this member is formed with an arcuate recess 32 for receiving the end of the dished strip, the member being securedto the strip by means of a rivet or the like 34.

Disposed within the upper part of the container is a distensibl'e and collapsible frame designated generally by reference character 36. This frame includes a barlike-rnember 38 which extends centrally along the top wall'of the container. Bar 38 may be made of sheet metal with the edges formed as flanges 39 in order to provide rigidity. Pivotally connected to this bar isa pair of frame members'40, the pivotal connection being shown more particularly in Fig. 6, where it will be seen that a portion 41 of flange 39 near the end of the bar 38 is. curved upwardly to embrace the end of the frame member. As is clear from Fig.3, these frame members may be folded together so as to occupy minimum space during storage.

Each frame member 40is provided centrally-with; a

projection 42 which'is received in a recess 44 formed in the end 0153 spreader member 46. As is shown, this spreader is generally of triangular shape and is formed;-

with a plurality of openings 48 adapted to reeeive'the hooks 5 0 of coat hangers for supporting garments in the container, i

The spreader is preferablymade of; sheet metal with two of its edges rolled over to form the recesses 44. Se-

cured to the top of the spreader in any suitable manner,

as byspot' welding indicated'by 52, is a stirrup-shaped member 54 within which is secured aninternally threaded:

with a centrally located aperture 60. A threaded rod 62f,

formed with an eye at itsouter; end extends through a smallopening formed-in the top, seam 18 of the flexible container andithrollgh the hole 60, in, the bar 38 for, threaded engagement with the threaded member 56'. A hook 64 for supporting the entire container from a clothes pole or the like is connected to the eye of rod 62. Also, a rod 66 is connected to this eye and is formed at its opposite end with a rectangular shaped eye 68. Rod 66 has a length a little greater than half the length of bar 38.

It will be noted that the load resulting from clothes on hangers suspended from the openings 48 in spreader 46 is transmitted through the latter and through rod 62 directly to hook 64, without being applied to the frame members 40 or the bar 38. Consequently, these members and the bar may be of much lighter construction than would be necessary if they were required to carry this load.

Inasmuch as paradichlorobenzene gas is heavier than air, the crystals from which this gas sublimates should preferably be located near the top of the container in order to obtain as uniform as possible distribution of the gas therein. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, one or more strips 70 are looped over one or both of the frames 40. Secured to each strip is a plurality of small bags or containers 72 which contain paradichlorobenzene crystals. These containers are made of a material which is perchloride. It is advantageous to use transparent material in order that theu'ser may at all times observe .the amount of crystals remaining in the bags 72. r

The above-identified device is used as follows:

With the container in the condition shown in Fig. "1, clothing or other articles to be stored may be readilyl introduced thereinto through the opening 22. -The'clothing is preferably placed on hangers which may be suspended in the openings 48 in the spreader 46, as shown in Fig. 2. Additional articles, such as blankets or the like, maybe folded and placed in the bottom of the container. Thereupon, the slide fastener 24 is manipulated to mechanically close the opening 22. However, as previously stated, this does not provide a gas-tight seal for the opening. Inorder to accomplish the provision of such a seal, the handle 30 at the upper end of the strip is grasped and rotated so as to roll up the material of the end wall 20, which includes the opening 22, around the strip, as is shown in Fig. 2. In order 'to retain the wall in this rolled up condition, the eye 68 of rod 66 is placed over the handle 30, thus preventing rotation of the strip. Due to the-fact that the container itself is made of material which is impervious to the fumigant gas and the opening 22 is substantially completely sealed by rolling the wall up around the strip 28, there is practically no loss whatsoever of fumigant and consequently clothing and the like may be stored for an indefinite period of time.

Even though it is the rolling up of the wall, rather than the closing of the slide fastener, which produces a gastight closure of the opening, provision of the slide fastener is desirable because, with an opening of the length required in a garment bag, difiiculty might be experienced in properly rolling up the wall on both sides of the opening if the edges of the wall bounding the opening were not held together.

In order to remove a garment from the container, it is merely necessary to disengage the rod 66 from the strip, unroll the side wall 20 and open the slide fastener. Whenever the container is open, a certain amount of fumigantgas will escape and eventually all the crystals within the bags 72 will be used up. When this occurs, a new strip of material 70 with full bags 72 attached thereto may be hung over the frame members.

In order to collapse the supporting frame 36 for storing the container in a minimum space, the projections 42 may be withdrawn from the recesses 44 by slightly springing the frame members 40. Thereupon the spreader 46 may be turned through 90 so as to extend parallel to the bar 38 and the frame members 40 pivoted towards each other so that the entire frame lies in practically a.

single plane. The strip 28 may be withdrawn from the pocket 26 and the flexible material of the container folded around the frame member. The garment bag may then be packed in a suitable cardboard box or the like. Due to the fact that thestrip may be bent about an axis transverse to its lengthwise extent, this strip may be curled up so as to extend around the inside of the box.

While I have shown and described one more or less specific embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that this has been done for the purpose of illustration only and that my invention is not to be limited thereby, but is to be interpreted as broadly as the appended claims permit;

What I claim is: l. A garment bag comprisinga container having elongated top, bottom and side edges defining side walls made .of a flexible fumigant impervious materiaL'and a distendable and collapsible frame disposed within the upper part of said container holding said side walls in spaced relationship, said frame including a pair of members hinged together along the longitudinal center line of said 'i top edge and intermediate said top and bottom edges,

said members including lower frame portions engaging,

the said side walls parallel to said center line, and a spreader removably engageable with said frame portions at points thereon spaced substantial distances from said center line and normal thereto for holding the frame bers, said spreader including recesses in opposite ends detachably engageable with said projections for maintaining said members in a distended position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,268,881 Rosenthal June 11, 1918 1,511,179 Tallman Oct. 7, 1924 1,615,430 Woodruir' Ian. 25, 1927 1,815,142 Douglas July 21, 1931 1,886,574 Normandy Nov. 8, 1932 2,535,625 Corwin Dec. 26, 1950 2,561,841 Cart July 24, 1951 Marbit Dec. 11, 1951 

